Mexican Fisheries Output Grows by 2.5 Per Cent

MEXICO - The Mexican national fisheries production - one of the most dynamic activities in the primary sector of the economy has registered an average annual growth of 2.5 per cent over the past nine years.

According to estimates of capture and culture at the end of this year, it is expected that the national fish production will be a 1.758 million tonnes of live weight, a figure higher than 25.3 per cent, compared to the volume that was obtained in 2000.

Information Service and Food and Fisheries (SIAP) said that from 2000 to 2009 there was an increase of more than three percentage points in the share of aquaculture.

In 2008, aquaculture reported a harvest of 289,593 tonnes and this year it is expected to reach a volume of 295,000 tonnes.

This sustained growth in national fish production, is a product of modernisation that has taken the sector in recent years.

The favorable performance of aquaculture is due to the intensification of mariculture activities in selected areas of open water and shrimp culture and favourable prices on the international markets.

Last year, Mexico reported a production of 187,000 tonnes of shrimp, of which 128,000 tonnes, 69 per cent, were farmed.

In value terms, the national fish production increased from MXN12.589 billion pesos in 2000, MXN17.248 billion pesos last year.

SIAP said that seafood exportsfrom January to July this year were up by 25 per cent in terms of value, representing morethan $60.5 million.

The upward trend in the export of fishery products was confirmed with information from the trade balance published by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI), published last August, which reported a 19.5 per cent increase.